"He'll be alright, hun," Vaggie comforted the distressed Hellborn Princess. Charlie stood by Angel's bedside holding one of his limp hands in both of her own. Following the last seizure, Dr. Abaddon had administered a needle he had filled with an opium-based sedative. The locust demon had assured them that it would help alleviate the medical episodes Angel was experiencing before insisting the Spider should be moved to the clinic on the other side of the lake for continued treatment and observation. Charlie had insisted on traveling to the clinic, Vaggie insisted on going with her. By default, Cherri was left back at the cabin to look after Fat Nuggets. The Cyclops wasn't happy about being excluded but didn't argue the point.
"I should have known about this," Charlie said despondently as she watched Angel's sleeping face. On the surface, he looked like he was peacefully resting, but she knew it was a drug-induced slumber. "Why didn't I see this before."
"Angel has his secrets," The female moth demon pointed out. "And this was one he felt he could keep from us. That doesn't mean you did anything bad, but if you had known about the drug use...would it have made any difference."
"I could have done something," Charlie insisted. "I could have gotten him the help he needed. I just wish I had...No I don't wish, I should have been prepared for something like this. I've wanted to prove to my father and mother, to all of Hell that redemption is possible for them. I've been so eager to make this idea a reality that I never stopped to think about my own subjects and their actual needs."
"Isn't that why we wanted a test subject," Vaggie said. "We needed to show we can get one soul into Heaven to prove it is possible."
"Angel and I were talking earlier," Charlie explained. "Before...before this happened. While we were talking, he did admit he didn't believe in our cause."
"You're only now learning that" Vaggie let out a sigh that showed she was anything but surprised by this news. "I had told you he wasn't going to take any of this seriously."
"But unlike everyone else we talked to," Charlie pointed out. "He had actually heard the two of us out about this project before he agreed to join in."
"He still joined for his own motives," Vaggie pointed out.
"Perhaps," Charlie accepted that as truth. "But...if you were in his place wouldn't you have done the same?" Vaggie didn't answer a troubled expression crossed her face as though there was something she wanted to say but didn't know how to explain.
"Vaggie," Charlie asked? "What's wrong?"
"It's..." Vaggie started to explain.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Dr. Abaddon stated as he arrived in the room. "But I feel the time has come to leave my patient to his rest, I have a car ready to take you back to the cabin."
"If you don't mind," Vaggie stated. "I feel one of us should stay with him. Angel was unconscious when he was moved here, it would be better for him to have someone he knows with him when he regains consciousness rather than waking up alone in someplace that's unfamiliar."
"I don't know," Abaddon said as he considered the request. "That sedative I used should have him out until noon, and his window faces the royal family's cabin. It should be fine with him here until he wakes up."
"I disagree," Vaggie determinedly said. "It would be better for Angel if someone he knows is here. The last place he remembered being was in his guest room at the cabin. You may be right that he won't regain consciousness before noon, but I don't know how he'd react to finding himself someplace that he doesn't recognize. So please, allow me to stay with him just for tonight."
"I'll see if there is a cot that can be found for you," Dr. Abadon said as he turned to leave. "Though I do admit this is highly irregular."
"It'll just be for tonight," Vaggie insisted. "Once he wakes up and accepts, he isn't in any sort of danger he'll be fine on his own."
"Vaggie," Charlie commented in surprise. "You are willing to do this...for Angel, but the two of you don't get along."
"I'm not fond of him," Vaggie admitted. "But I'm willing to stay with him until wakes up. There is also the problem with Cherri back at the cabin, she is more likely to respond to you than me."
"Some of the guards have a spare cot in their barracks," Doctor Abaddon announced as he returned to the room. "They will be with be delivering it here in a moment, are you certain this will just be a one-time occurrence?"
"I am sure it will only be once" Vaggie insisted. "He needs to be assured this place is safe and in his current condition that is best done by having someone he is familiar with here with him. This way if he does wake up, he will at least have some understanding as to why he was brough here." The female moth demon turned to Charlie in reassurance. "I'll be fine, hun. I know what I'm doing."
"Alright," Charlie said as she gave Vaggie a warm hug. "Have a good night, Cherri, and I will be here tomorrow as soon as possible."
Charlie wasn't sure what she would find when she got back to the cabin. Cherri was foul tempered about being left behind; she was also rather subdued by everything that had happened that evening. But as long as she wasn't setting off any explosives things had to be good, right? The Hellborn princess found the punky cyclops sitting on the couch scrolling through the messages on Angel's work phone. Angered tension roiled off of her at every text she read through. It was a wonder the couch hadn't caught fire to how volatile her temper felt at that moment.
"How's Angie," Cherri asked flatly? She didn't bother looking up from the text messages she was looking through.
"He's resting," Charlie said. "Vaggie is staying with him for tonight, the two of us can go visit the clinic tomorrow morning."
"So, I'm allowed to actually do something for once," Cherri inquired? As before her voice was flat and emotionless masking the wildfire that was just waiting to be sparked. Charlie sighed uncomfortably, she didn't blame Cherri for feeling angry and left out. Angel was her best friend after all, and the whole day with the exception of watching over him while he had been ill, she had been pushed aside and treated like she had no place in all that was going on. But she was too impulsive and reactionary, they had to leave her out because...because she cared too much. And Cherri had proven that very evening that emotionally going off the handle didn't do her or Angel any favors.
"I'm going to get some ice cream," Charlie offered. "Feel like some? My dad tends to have several flavors on hand."
"You can keep your shitty ice cream," Cherri growled under her breath. "You don't get it, princess. Angie and I were fine before you decided to stick your prissy little nose into our business with this fucking brainless redemption idea. The two of us were fine...the only reason any of this shit is happening is that you couldn't leave things well enough alone. You think that all we need to do is play nice and somehow Heaven would just accept us. You are the fucking Crowned Princess of Hell, what do you even know about any of us. You say you care about your people, but you fucking don't, if you cared at all you would have been learning about what we did to get here not thinking that people will magically decide to become better people because you say so. That ain't how reality works, and while we are on the subject...maybe Heaven isn't what you think it is. Ever think of that? Maybe it's an even shittier place than Hell, it just happens to look nice because they go out of their way to hide the corruption. What do you even know about anything anyway?! All you are some sanctimonious rich bimbo who is so sheltered she has no clue what reality even is!"
Charlie didn't respond or retaliate to Cherri's angry words. She quietly took them even though they stung. Cherri was right, if she hadn't approached Angel none of the recent events would have happened. He wouldn't be sick in the private estate clinic. But then what...if she hadn't approached the spider demon, he would still be offering himself on street corners waiting for Johns to pick him up for their own pleasures. Valentino would still be an ever-present torment in his existence. But was she really changing things for the better or was she doing all this to prove a point to her father and all the people in Hell who doubted her. Losing all appetite for the ice cream Charlie thought would calm her anxiety she turned towards her room.
"Angel was right..." She sighed in dismay. "No one wants to see what I'm trying to do because it sounds like a crazy idea."
"You're just figuring that out now," Cherri dismissed. "Back when Angie and I were alive, there were places that were doing exactly what you are creating. They were called psychiatric hospitals, but Angel and I would know them as the Loony Bin, the funny farm, and the Happy Hotel."
"I..." Charlie said despondently. "I didn't know that..."
"Funny," Cherri flippantly responded. "I thought Angel Dust would have told you about that seeing as he's more open to talking with you than he was with me." This caused Charlie to pause. That was something she hadn't heard before, and the way Cherri said it both sounded resentful and jealous.
"You..." Charlie answered. "You...probably know more about him than I do."
"Oh come on," Cherri said. "I've heard you two talk earlier, you sound like you've been best mates for years. Why wouldn't you know about that?"
"He was only asking me about why I wanted to start the hotel," Charlie said. "He just wanted to know what my motives were and why I felt that was something that was possible. I used to believe I knew, but now...now I don't think I had any real plan to begin with. Like you said if I cared about my subjects as much as I believed I did, I would have done a whole lot more. Maybe instead of needing a test subject for redemption, I needed a representative from the sinner classes to give me an idea of who my subjects were."
"But you knew Angie was being...well that," Cherri said. "He never told me that was even happening until last night."
"Angel didn't tell Vaggie and me about the sexual assaults," Charlie said. "He only said he was being abused, we came to that conclusion on our own. And the way he reacted to you when you tried to touch him after he returned to the hotel, the injuries he had sustained, the way he looked vulnerable and distressed after he regained consciousness. Those are reactions Vaggie and I recognized because we've had similar experiences in one form or another. It just confirmed things, particularly since the evening before Alastor had asked you if you were certainly worse than forced blow jobs hadn't occurred. I'm not saying Angel was right in not informing you, but he has his reasons for doing so, I'm sure of it."
"Did he tell you about a place called the "Special Room"," Cherri asked?
"Whats..." Charlie paused at the question. "What's the "Special Room"?"
"Don't really know," Cherri admitted. "It's a place Val speaks of in these text messages that he has been sending Angie. Shit like "Remember that 'Special Room' I keep aside just for you..."
"In that context, it sounds like it might be a..." Charlie said becoming more alarmed before turning to Cherri. Approaching the other girl she held her hand for the phone. Cherri gave it to the princess before hugging her knees to her chest. Her anger had largely dissipated leaving her feeling numb. Charlie started to read through the various messages which started off as mildly threatening, she slowly sat down on the couch next to Cherri as Val's messages became increasingly more threatening as they progressed. As Charlie read the most recent text messages tears were streaming out of her eyes as she felt like a hand was crushing her heart.
"Val, threatens you to Angel in some of these..." Charlie painfully responded as put down the phone.
"I'm not afraid of Val," Cherri waved her hand dismissively. "I mean yeah, the guy dangerous because he's an Overlord, but I don't really..."
"Overlords are very dangerous," Charlie said feeling aghast at how brash Cherri was being. "My dad keeps some of the most powerful Overlords as part of his inner circle. I don't know much about Valentino or his power, but Angel...he likely does know what Valentino could do to you. Or possibly all of the V's and he cares enough about you to fear for you."
"I never asked him to," Cherri groused. "I can take care of myself, I don't need him or anyone else...I just keep him around because we're partners, and we do rely on one another. Sometimes I wonder if that is really true considering Angie has no problem dropping me when shit comes up. Such as when I first started being friends with him, there were times he'd be open to seeing me and shit, such as when we were going to hit the clubs. But other times, he'd...he'd say he couldn't meet and give some excuse about his boss being on his case and it wasn't time for us to see each other. If I did see him while he was on the job at all he'd just act like he didn't fucking know me or would pull me aside and tell me that he didn't want to hang out. There were times it felt like he wanted to be rid of me. It wasn't until later I learned that Vox has him under surveillance so the two of us meeting at all only showed the V's that he had someone to use fucking use against him."
"He wasn't being heartless," Charlie said. "I know it feels that way, but he was trying to make sure you weren't someone they took interest in. He has said Nuggs has been threatened as well, the hotel could have been threatened as far as we know. Maybe he was pushing you away to make sure you weren't being targeted. Take that interview I did on Channel 666 news after the last Cleanse. They were doing a report about that turf war you were having; I didn't pay any sort of attention to it because it had nothing to do with the hotel. It was only after Angel got involved in it, that it affected how we looked on national TV. Then during the ride back to the hotel, he told Vaggie and me that you were a friend of his and that's why he was involved in the turf war, to begin with. If I had known about Valentino though, I would never have mentioned Angel was a patron. Perhaps if I hadn't there would have been a point where he could have learned to trust me enough to let me know what was occurring. Considering how he reacted to that picture of Henroin, there may be other dangers that have been sparked, we just don't know about them yet because they haven't had reason to reveal themselves yet"
"You know," Cherri confessed. "Angie...he stopped talking two me a few weeks before the cleanse happened. He didn't call me, he didn't text...I went to his apartment building only for his sleazy-rat landlord to tell me he had just up and moved out. I thought maybe Val had done something such as forcing him to move to the studio or he had been erased or something. I was really worried when never heard from him or even got any confirmation that he was being picking up my messages. Then when I was defending my turf against that Edgelord Snake, he just showed up. That was when he told me where he had told me he had moved to the hotel. You have no idea how relieved I was to see he was alright. I just don't get why he couldn't tell me what he was doing,"
"I think I have some idea," Charlie explained. "You said yourself Angel was under surveillance. Vaggie was suspicious as to why he changed his mind and decided to join the hotel since he had been dubious about it. Before the whole withdrawal thing, he had actually admitted that he didn't really believe in the hotel. I suppose he wasn't making that wasn't much of a secret so I shouldn't be surprised. You probably already know that Angel was likely only using the hotel as a means to escape Valentino, cause his employer knew where he was living before, but the Happy Hotel itself was not somewhere he would know. The offerings I was giving to him for joining were free room and board, as well as protection from Hell's hazards. So he could have cut ties to Valentino, and the Overlord wouldn't have any idea where he was hiding...at least for a time. I don't know if that could be a permanent solution in the long run. Eventually, Valentino or someone associated with him could have tracked him to the hotel and who knows what could have happened?"
"So Angie's in that clinic," Cherri asked?
"Yeah," Charlie nodded. "He was given a sedative that Dr. Abaddon said will help with the seizures, so he's asleep. Vaggie offered to stay with him so he doesn't wake up and find himself somewhere he doesn't know."
"Good plan," Cherri softly smiled. "He doesn't react well to the unfamiliar, particularly when he feels he's vulnerable. You said you and Vag's understand what happened to Angie by how he reacted back at the hotel?"
"Yes," Charlie sighed through her nose. "Vaggie has her own experiences that leave her mistrustful towards people of the male gender. Part of that has to do with when she was alive, she hasn't spoken to me about it and I don't want to force her to say anything until she's ready. And part of it is protecting me from potential threats, both of my parents know her and they trust her enough to know she will keep me safe. I also get this impression that they believe I will grow tired of her sometimes and move on to someone they feel is more suitable, at least that's the impression my dad gives me. I was never assaulted, not sexually any way...that prom photo I have back at the hotel. The man I'm with in that photo is known as Seviathon Von Eldrich, and he was my boyfriend at that time."
"I take it he was abusive," Cherri asked?
"He was toxic yes, his parents were on friendly terms with my mom and dad," Charlie hugged herself as though the memories they dredged up were painful. "He was friendly and civil at first, I never got along with his sister Helsa and he would at times berate her for how she would treat me. But as our relationship blossomed, he would tell me that he knew how to train me to be a proper Queen of Hell. When we made love, it was consensual between us, but it always left me feeling vulnerable and used. For a while I thought that these feelings were because something was wrong with me, that somehow, I was not doing things correctly. It took me a while and some talks with my mom and dad to realize how toxic the relationship really was. Sev never really loved me, he only saw me as an object...a means to get his family line on Hell's throne. When I broke things off, he wasn't pleased and insisted I was meant to be his, I just didn't see it and he'd make sure I realized what a mistake I was making. My dad however took my side on the issue that I was free to take who I wanted as my consort, and it was clear to him and my mother that I was not happy. And since I hadn't officially taken him as my chosen husband, I was able to reject the match. Following that, I met Vaggie, and after some time of being with her, we promised ourselves to each other." Charlie showed Cherri the finger where the black-gold band of a promise ring rested. "We haven't planned to be married yet, as I have been wanting to create the hotel. I don't like the idea of my subjects being slaughtered without any sort of chance to prove themselves worthy of Heaven. But I think...I think I may have started this hotel to save Vaggie. She's a good person, I can feel it, just like I feel it with you and with Angel. I don't want to lose her to the Exterminators, but part of me also worries that if my belief that redemption is real...she'll go to Heaven and I'll be left behind."
"I think you're better off without that Seviathon creep," Cherri said with a smirk. "When men say they can teach you how to be...well anything, they tend to be sexist jerks and just think women can't do anything right aside from cook, clean, and produce babies. Or in your case it would be he'll handle the difficult political matters; you just worry about looking nice."
"What about you," Charlie asked? "Did you have a guy you had feelings for?"
"I did," Cherri said. Though her single eye seemed to grow distant in thought. "I thought he was a man for me when I knew him, but love can blind a person into believing anything they want to believe. My mother...she had me when she was in her mid-teens. My dad was out of the picture, so I never knew him, and her folks wanted nothing to do with her when they learned she was pregnant. So, she was raising me on her own...worked two occasionally three jobs to keep a roof over our heads. For me, it was like she was never there, so I was largely raising myself, or I'd be dumped off at the houses of my school friends. I know it was so she knew I was taken care of while she was away at work, but it always felt like she just wanted to be away from me. When she was home she'd be tired all the time, drunk all the time, smoking all the time. She'd call me her biggest mistake when she saw me and tell me I had no idea what a burden I really was. All sorts of crap about how she used to have a life before she had me, and that I took that all away from her just because I existed. I'd try to earn some money any way I could by doing some odd jobs for neighbors. I find ways to hide the money I earned because mom would take it if she found it...said it was to cover the interest fee for putting up with me rather than dropping me in a dumpster after I was born. As I grew older, I stayed over with friends more and more, sometimes mom didn't care where I was, while other times she'd storm over to the houses of my friends and demand I return home. Eventually, I got involved with a group of bad people...typical street thugs. Fights and all, that's how I learned how to make explosives like Molotov cocktails and shit like that. I liked seeing things explode, such as fireworks and pyrotechnics during events and concerts. And had expressed an interest in learning how to be a technician in some of these things...I just couldn't get a job in it because I was too young, and I didn't have the proper training as they called it, because I'd be dealing with some very hazardous chemicals and compounds. One day when I got home, my mother just threw a bag at me and said that she was fucking tired of me, so I had twenty minutes to pack up and go. So, I grabbed what clothing and belongings I was able to grab and left. I'd shack up wherever and with whoever I could. As long as it wasn't on the street I didn't care, and of course, they wanted that as payment. It was during this time I met...Isaac. I don't know what he goes by now Hell, but he ran a gang called "The Fearless Order". I was deeply infatuated with him, or he made me believe I was, he was the one person who told me I was special. Isaac would make me feel like I was someone, and even though I knew he'd bang the other chicks who were part of our group, or he shared me with the other male group mates or and random guys wherever we stopped. Isaac insisted I was his best girl and no one else was anywhere near me. I was too blinded by the belief he loved me to realize he was only using me for his own ends. We would attack and rob groups or organizations, and he wanted my skills in explosives as part of it. He even gave me my street name of Cherri Bomb, which I adopted as part of who I was in the ragtag group we were a part of. I didn't question what we were doing because I was too sold on the society he wanted to create. And even if I did question it, I was in too deep to be able to get out of it. Until one day, we were doing a job at a warehouse getting all sorts of stuff that we could sell for money, booze, drugs, anything really. Someone saw us breaking in and the building was surrounded by the police. During the escape everyone was able to get out through the window we used to get in, but I was one of the smallest members of the group, so I wasn't able to grab the window ledge after my other companions had made their way through. I called for my mates to help me. Isaac at first looked like he was going to reach down for me, but then he pulled his gun and fired. The only thing I felt then was a pain in my chest where the bullet pierced my heart, then my world faded, and everything went black as I felt myself falling. When I woke up, I found I was laying on the ground of Pentagram City, I don't remember my true name anymore, and even if I could remember I don't think I'd want to go back to it...it'll just bring up too many bad memories."
"So, you weren't a bad person," Charlie considered. "But you never actually had anyone who honestly cared about you. And when you did have people who did care about you, you were being brainwashed and manipulated into believing what they wanted."
"Pretty much," Cherri said. "Angie's the only person who's really given two shits about me."
"You are someone who means something to him," Charlie pointed out. "As you've told me when you first asked to be part of the hotel, he has been used and jerked around by others. Part of his reasons for avoiding you is not because he didn't care about you, he wasn't certain how to trust you. So aside from anything in his family he feels he is not allowed to speak of, he doesn't want to reveal too much about himself so you don't have anything that can be used against him if you did decide to betray him. I don't know anything about the Mafia lifestyle, but if they do have things such as an oath of silence, there must be a need to be mindful of who can be trusted. And it's likely he also doesn't want to reveal anything that could put you at risk, because it would be too dangerous for you to know or could cause you to react in a way that could put you in danger. You can see that as something that wounds your friendship with him. But sometimes in caring for or even loving someone...you do run the risk of hurting them. And while having certain truths hidden from you feels like a betrayal. There are truths that can leave irreparable damage if revealed. You are someone he values and cares for as a younger sister. he doesn't see you as a replacement or substitution for Molly. But more someone who he can place in a role adjacent to what Molly had been to him. That's why he doesn't want to lose you."
"I guess I can understand that" Cherri sighed. "Maybe I'm not really angry with Angie for hiding the assaults from me. There are women in the living world who can't talk about that sort of shit without panicking, maybe I shouldn't be surprised a guy would feel the same experience. What I'm more pissed about is how I didn't notice the hints; he was tossing at me about what was going on or even stopped to question what he wasn't saying. That's why I felt angry that you and Vaggie knew what was going on...and I didn't. Some friend I am."
"If you had known," Charlie asked? "Would that have made you feel any better?"
"I guess not," Cherri heaved out a frustrated breath. "It would remind me of all the times that Isaac would use me, how he would tell me I was his best girl and then hand me over to other men or share me with other men and women. And then in the end just toss me aside like I was no longer worth anything. That's what I fear will happen with Angel, as long as he's able to bring in money that asshole Val is happy with him. But as popular as Angie is...he isn't going to bring in high-paying clientele forever. I'm worried that Val would try to have Angie brainwashed or erased so you won't have him either."
"I'm worried about that too," Charlie said. "Maybe it's better to stop talking about this, focusing on what could happen won't help what is happening right now. In this estate Angel is safe from everyone who wants to abuse him, he is healing from his drug use, and he has the freedom to be and explore who he really is. Maybe when this trip is over, we will have a better idea of what steps we can take."
"How many flavors of chocolate ice cream do you have," Cherri asked? "I think I'm in the mood for a 'Chocolate Homicide sundae'."
"That's my dad's favorite," Charlie smiled as the two girls got up and went to the kitchen to raid the freezer.